Translation comparison

Sirach 19:8 in 1 translation

Every translation here words this verse identically, which is itself worth knowing — there is no interpretive fork to weigh.

Read with nearby context Open chapter 19

Early modern English

Seventeenth-century wording and sentence shape. Familiar, rhythmic, and the version most quotations you have heard are taken from.

King James Version

KJV

Whether it be to friend or foe, talk not of other men’s lives; and if thou canst without offence, reveal them not.

1611 / 1769 · Public domain · The Authorised Version, revised to the 1769 Blayney text. Includes the Apocrypha as printed in 1611.

The verses either side

King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.

7Rehearse not unto another that which is told unto thee, and thou shalt fare never the worse.

8Whether it be to friend or foe, talk not of other men’s lives; and if thou canst without offence, reveal them not.

9For he heard and observed thee, and when time cometh he will hate thee.

Not shown for this verse: American Standard Version, Darby Bible, Young's Literal Translation, World English Bible, Open English Bible (US), Open English Bible (Commonwealth), Bible in Basic English. Most modern translations do not include the Apocrypha.